Integrated scanner/printer driver and related methodology

Abstract

A single, integrated multi-function driver which, when invoked, has the capability to afford driver control over the operations of a scanner and a printer, such as the scanner and printer component portions of an otherwise conventional MFP device. The integrated driver included both a scanner driver and a printer driver, and in an enhanced form, further includes specialized portions which enable scan modification and manipulation, as well as print modification and manipulation.

I claim:  
     
         1 . An MFP document-scanning/printing system comprising 
 an MFP device having a scanner, and a printer, and    an integrated MFP driver operatively associated both with said scanner and with said printer, and including, effectively within the MFP driver per se, an integrated scanner driver and printer driver each operatively associated respectively with said scanner and said printer.    
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said integrated MFP driver includes scan modification and control software operatively linked to said scanner driver.  
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said integrated MFP driver includes print modification and control software operatively associated with said printer driver.  
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said integrated MFP driver includes both scan modification and control software and print modification and control software operatively associated, respectively, with said scanner driver and said printer driver.  
     
     
         5 . A method employable with an MFP device having a scanner and a printer comprising 
 furnishing a scanner driver for the control of the scanner,    furnishing a printer driver for the control of the printer, and    integrating the provided scanner driver and printer driver as portions of a unified MFP driver whose invocation opens user access substantially simultaneously to both said scanner driver and said printer driver.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the unified MFP device provides access to image manipulation modalities, and to print previewing.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein image modalities may include, inter alia one or more of resolution, cropping, rotation, zooming, compressing, color adjusting, diffusion, font processing and scaling, and page scaling, placement and finishing.  
     
     
         8 . A document scanning/printing system comprising 
 a scanner,    a printer operatively connected to said scanner, and    an integrated driver including a scanner driver component and a printer driver component operatively associated, respectively, with said scanner and said printer.